WILL SIXTEEN BE SWEET FOR KASICH?The sixteenth Republican candidate to announce a White House bid, sixteen days before the first GOP debate, Ohio Gov. John Kasich is hoping his launch today in Columbus will provide a quick burst of momentum and land him on the primetime stage in Cleveland. To break out of the crowd, Kasich will pitch himself as the only candidate with experience in Congress, the private sector and as governor of a key swing state. A budget hawk in Congress who turned a deficit into a balanced budget in Ohio, Kasich’s brand of conservatism hasn’t always meshed with the party base. But supporters say there’s still room for him because no candidate – Jeb Bush in particular – has achieved a commanding lead in polls. His own poll numbers are in the basement and the late start makes for a tough challenge, but if the bounce Kasich is aiming for vaults him into the top ten, his timing may prove perfect.

[Watch Fox: Chief Political Correspondent Campaign Carl Cameron is on hand in Columbus with the latest on Kasich’s 2016 launch.]

Primary target -The Hill: “He’s putting most of his chips on a solid showing in New Hampshire, where he’ll be running in the same mainstream conservative lane as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Bush — who has so far outraised Kasich by about a 10-to-1 margin.”

[Following his kickoff at Ohio State University, Kasich heads to New Hampshire where he’ll hold a Town Hall meeting this evening. He’ll remain in the Granite State through Thursday.]

Team K -Politico: “The governor has stocked his campaign with veterans of New Hampshire politics, including [John Weaver], an architect of John McCain’s 2000 primary win in the state. (Weaver and Fred Davis, Kasich’s media consultant, also worked for former Ambassador Jon Huntsman, who turned New Hampshire into an outpost in his 2012 bid for the nomination but fell short.) Kasich has also established a political action committee, New Day for America, which has purchased $3 million in TV advertising in the state.”

And he’s got a new look - Check out what Kasich’s campaign logo looks like here.

POLL: TRUMP LEADS BIG, WITH AN ASTERISKWaPo: “Businessman Donald Trump surged into the lead for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, with almost twice the support of his closest rival, just as he ignited a new controversy after making disparaging remarks about Sen. John McCain’s Vietnam War service, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Support for Trump fell sharply on the one night that voters were surveyed following those comments. Telephone interviewing for the poll began Thursday, and most calls were completed before the news about the remarks was widely reported. Although the sample size for the final day was small, the decline was statistically significant…

Apology ‘of sorts’ - “Certainly if there was a misunderstanding, I would totally take that back,” – Donald Trump to host Bill O’Reilly, on “The O’Reilly Factor”

[Donald Trump holds a campaign kickoff rally in Bluffton, S.C. today]

DMR says: Outta here, Trump - The Des Moines Register, the most influential state paper in the first caucus state, published an editorial Monday evening telling Trump to get out of the race. The board wrote, “His comments were not merely offensive, they were disgraceful. So much so, in fact, that they threaten to derail not just his campaign, but the manner in which we choose our nominees for president.”

Jeb wants tougher K-Street limits -WSJ: “Vowing to rattle the political establishment in Washington, Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush on Monday said members of Congress should disclose their meetings with lobbyists and refrain from lobbying former colleagues for six years after leaving office…Mr. Bush’s proposed lobbying overhauls were part of a sweeping speech promising to shrink the federal workforce and budget, goals that have long been advocated by Republicans in Washington.”

“We need to help politicians to rediscover life outside of Washington DC, which -- who knows? -- might even be a pleasant surprise for them” – Former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., from his speech in Tallahassee Monday.

And a swipe at rivals -Buzzfeed: “…Bush says his opponents for the presidency shouldn’t be missing votes in the Senate or they should “resign, you know.”

“No, I’m really kind of saying the system itself is the problem,” Bush told radio host Michael Medved when asked if his speech Monday on changing Washington was aimed at his presidential rivals who are currently in the Senate.

[Vocativ reported earlier this year “…Of the lawmakers currently serving in the U.S. Senate, Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is the least likely to show up for work. He’s been in office for four years, and of 1,198 opportunities to vote, he has declined to do so 99 times.”]

[Bush is in Spartanburg, S.C., where he will participate in the Bridging the Gap Leadership Series hosted by The Palladian View.]

WALKER PAC COMES IN STRONGGov. Scott Walker, R-Wisc., released his PAC’s fundraising totals this morning with $20 million in the bank. The PAC Unitimidated said, “Unintimidated PAC’s fundraising total is the 3rd largest total for a Super PAC supporting a Republican candidate this quarter. The $20 million haul is even more impressive considering that the dollars were raised before Scott Walker officially entered the race for President.”

Walker and Hillary duke it over abortion ban - Walker and Clinton both tweeted about the 20-week abortion ban Walker signed into law in Wisconsin Monday. Clinton posted a signed tweet saying the law was “extreme and unacceptable.” Walker tweeted back saying, “Hillary shows she’s out of touch with the majority of Americans who believe babies at 5 months deserve life. –SW”

Cruz highlights conservatism with church owners in Iowa - The Des Moines Register obtained an exclusive video of Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, interviewing the Odgaard family. The couple opened a church venue for weddings, and was sued by a gay couple they had refused to service eventually deciding to close their business. The video shows Cruz interviewing them about their story, and is set to service as an announcement for his “Rally for Religious Liberty” today in Iowa.

WITH YOUR SECOND CUP OF COFFEE…Live Science: “A decades-old mystery about the body of Alexander the Great’s father has been solved, anthropologists claim. A new analysis of bones from a Macedonian tomb complex reveals a skeleton with a knee injury so severe that it would have caused a noticeable limp in life. This injury matches some historical records of one sustained by Philip II, whose nascent empire Alexander the Great would expand all the way to India. The skeleton in question, however, is not the one initially thought to be Philip II’s — instead, it comes from the tomb next door. The skeletons are the subject of an entrenched debate among experts on ancient Greece and Macedonia. While some praised the new study, others pushed back, suggesting the new research will not quell 40 years of controversy.”

HILLARY ‘GRILLED’ FROM PANTSUITS TO TAXESSafe in the cocoon of a Facebook Q&A session Monday, Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton took questions on everything from her morning routine toincreasing the capital gains tax, a noted departure from her 2008 platform. Clinton was both brash and cheeky in her responses. A woman commented saying that female public figures have it so much harder than their male counterparts with scrutiny over their public appearance. Clinton responded, “Amen, sister.” But there was nothing funny about Clinton’s response to a question about Wall Street violations. Clinton said, “I pledged to prosecute individuals as well as firms when they commit fraud or other criminal wrongdoing - because no one is ‘too big to jail.’” All responses she wrote were signed with the signatory H, including a plug for her campaign signage items on her website.

What about dad? - NYT dug deep into Clinton’s family background focusing on her rarely-mentioned father. An ardent conservative who passed away in 1993, he never saw his daughter’s political star rise. As much as Clinton points to her mother’s story while campaigning this cycle she rarely talks in depth about her father. Why? Read here for the full story.

[Clinton hits hometown Chicago with a fundraiser at the home of Clinton Foundation supporter and President Obama bundler, Rajiv Fernando. She also headlines a fundraiser in Michigan.]

Climate change created ISIS, says O’Malley - In an interview with Bloomberg, former Gov. Martin O’Malley, D-M.D., said that climate change caused a drought in Syria forcing farmers to move into cities and increasing unemployment. Poverty then drove Syrians to turn to extreme groups like ISIS for solutions. Watch the interview here.

Bernie inspires a new trend -Reuters: “Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ visit on Saturday to Netroots Nation, a political convention for American progressives, didn’t go quite as planned…The protesters took over the stage when O’Malley was speaking and continued shouting when Sanders took the stage…After the incident, the hashtag #BernieSoBlack trended on Twitter as users debated the chaotic convention and Bernie Sanders’ reaction.”

FLAGS LOWERED AT CAPITOL TO HONOR TENNESSEE VICTIMS, BUT NOT AT WHITE HOUSEFox News: “Congressional leaders ordered the flags at the U.S. Capitol lowered to half-staff to honor the five victims of last week's shooting rampage in Chattanooga, Tenn. -- but no such order has come from President Obama, as the White House flag continues to fly Tuesday morning at full staff. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement that as Congress returned to session on Tuesday, the flags were lowered for the Navy sailor and four Marines killed.”

NO, YOUR OTHER LEFT!Bay News 9: “When the arrows painted on the roadway don’t match the arrows on the traffic lights, something bad could happen - quickly… [W]hen Sherrie Lee was driving recently out of the Carillon business park recently onto Ulmerton Road, she knew something was not right. ‘Well, I came up to the intersection and the light turned and there’s three lanes that turn left,’ Lee said. ‘And the guy in the far left lane went straight. And the other two went to turn left. Luckily nobody got hit, but it kind of startled me because I’ve never seen that before’…The traffic signal miscue was not the only problem at the intersection. The ‘ONLY’ street marking in conjunction with the left turning lane road arrows featured a backwards N. There were no crashes reported at the installation in light of the installation errors.”

Chris Stirewalt joined Fox News Channel (FNC) in July of 2010 and serves as politics editor based in Washington, D.C. Additionally, he authors the daily Fox News Halftime Report political news note and co-hosts the hit podcast, Perino & Stirewalt: I'll Tell You What. He also is the host of Power Play, a feature video series on FoxNews.com. Stirewalt makes frequent appearances on network programs, including America’s Newsroom, Special Report with Bret Baier and Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace. He also provides expert political analysis for FNC’s coverage of state, congressional and presidential elections.